Isaac Bashevis Singer, winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize for literature, will read some of his short stories and answer questions at 8 p.m. October 31 in Sanders Theater, Rabbi Ben-Zion Gold of the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel Society said yesterday.

Singer has come to Harvard each of the past 15 years except last year when he was unable to appear because of an illness.

Gold, who invited Singer, said his absence last year and the publicity generated by his winning the Noble Prize should heighten interest in his appearance.

According to Gold, who spoke with Singer a few days ago, the author "is very happy he got the prize. The only burdensome thing for him is the publicity resulting from it."

Singer originally gained fame as a writer in Poland, his native country, before coming to New York to join his brother, also a writer, in 1935. His recent works include a serialized autobiographical novel called "Between Faith and Doubt," which is published in Forwards, a Jewish daily paper in New York.

"I admire him very much, and I think he is a writer of world stature. I don't think the Nobel Prize always goes to the best writer, but I think it did in this case," Harry T. Levin, Babbitt Professor of Comparative Literature, said last night.

Singer's works have been translated into many languages, but he continues to write only in Yiddish. However, he knows English well and will read and conduct his question-and-answer session in English, Gold said.

Singer's past appearances here have drawn crowds of more than 500 people.